Jerome H. Parker IV received his B.A. from the University of Texas in 1972 and his Master’s of Professional Accountancy in 1975. Parker worked in the oil and gas industry as an accountant, auditor and business writer and was also active in the Texas writing community. Parker wrote poetry—largely for soldiers—as well as essays for the Austin Writer and served as contributing editor of Inside Texas Running from 1985-1987.

The Jerome H. Parker IV Papers, 1985-1998, consist of essays and poems by Parker from Inside Texas Running, Austin Writer and self-published poetry booklets. Parker’s poetry generally deals with soldiers and military themes while his prose covers running or the finer points of writing, depending on the publication.